


There is No You, There is No Me

by milkdoll



Category: NieR: Automata (Video Game)
Genre: Blood and Injury, F/M, Light Angst, Mild Gore, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, last chapter will be smut tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-03-12 19:29:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13554024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milkdoll/pseuds/milkdoll
Summary: 2B scanned the cave for movement, none that she could identify, only the twitching corpse of the dead machine that lay crumpled on the algae-slick floor. It took her a second to realize it had fallen silent too, completely silent. Wind wasn’t whistling through the gaps of the shredded metal canopy above her anymore, she could no longer hear the usual distant chirping of birds high above.Silence.Heavy, sickly silence that left a lump in her throat and a pit of nausea in her stomach.





	There is No You, There is No Me

**Author's Note:**

> Just fiy I'm not happy with this but it's just been sitting in my folders for months, unfinished, and I just wanted to be done with it so I could move on to the next part. 
> 
> So here it is lol.

“Thank you again, friend, for agreeing to help. We hope small gestures like this can prove that the machines here are not your enemy.” Pascal said warmly, dropping the small metal tracking device into 2B’s open palm.

“Thank you for this, Pascal. We’ll be in touch.” 2B said with a dismissive nod, turning on her heel and jumping from the wooden treetop platform to the bridge below. The light thud of 9S following in her footsteps sounding a moment later behind her.

She took off on light feet, running over rickety planks of wood, giving quick and polite nods to the machines who waved her farewell on the way. The trees were a blur around her as she ran through the dense forest, songbirds,and crickets chirping as she made her way towards the cliff top.

The trees became more and more sparse as she went, eventually becoming a few stand-alone trees dotted around her. She came to a stop when her toes were parallel to the sheer drop off of the cliff face. A few stray pebbles skipping down the jagged cut of rocks when her step disturbed them.

“Are-... Are you sure about this, 2B?” 9S’ concerned voice spoke to the side of her. 2B glanced over, the other android was examining the rocks below, peering over the side of the cliff. “It looks pretty dangerous down there...”He finished, she could feel him turn to look at her.

“It’s what the missions entails.” 2B said flatly, this is where the tracking device lead them, the vibrating pill-shaped device in 2B’s hand beeped, seemingly in agreement. “The bunkers orders were to track down the machine lifeform and eliminate the threat while it’s in stasis.” She recites, much to 9S’ frustration apparently from his furrowed brow and pursed lips.

“If the Commander wanted you to jump off a bridge for her would yo- _oh,_ wait.” 9S muttered under his breath mockingly but quietened when he met the taller androids firm gaze.

2B spared a glance over her shoulder, Pod 042 was hovering behind her expectantly and without another word, she jumped. The wind rushed through her hair as she fell, she scanned the gagged slices of rocks near the bottom of the canyon, looking for any flat surface to land on. When she had homed in on a spot she raised her arm, and without hesitation Pod 042 clamped down her palm, jarring her fall to a flutter.

Though the further and further she slowly descended the less the uneven spikes of rock even looked like rock. When she was a few meters away from the bottom of the pit is when it became apparent.

Twisted sheets of metal were bent crooked cuts, jutting upwards. 2B hummed as she observed the scene, landing herself at the foot of one of the spikes. The metal was worn and rusted. Having been there for a long amount of time, judging from the weather damage rusting at the edges.

“Metal?” 9S chirped, landing next to 2B and examining a piece himself. He ran a finger along the side of the spike, humming softly as he looked up at 2B. “It’s been bent this way, most likely as a deterrent to any threats, though it’s been here for at least two decades.” He rubbed his fingers together to rid his gloved hand of the rusty orange staining it. He turned to look around, a few empty husks of machines carcass’ littered the ground, which was most likely where the metal spikes were scavenged from.

2B continued forwards, following the grounds natural slope downward further into the canyon. But the further she pressed on the more intense the metal shards became, the sheets seemed to keep getting longer. Misshapen jags of sharp metal bending overhead until eventually, the two sides met, knotting together at the top in a canopy shape. It also lost its sheet-like consistency as they ventured onwards. Turning into twisted strips that had been frayed to create a veil of lethally sharp points.

The few dead machines they saw earlier was nothing compared to now. Corpses were stacked messily lining the sides of the wall, some speared through the chest with the spikes they saw earlier. It was darker now too, the canopy of shredded metal so thick it blocked out the usual bright sun above.

“Well, this is unnerving” 9S breathed, breaking the thick, uneasy silence that has built up between the two. 2B nodded, she felt it too, usually, she wouldn’t let herself be phased but this... This felt _far_ more sinister than anything she’d encountered in a very long time.

Maybe it was the stacks of hundreds of corpses piled higher than twice the size of her. Maybe it was the occasional drop of rusk-speckled oil that dripped from the sharp scraps of metal above. Or maybe it was the way she was suddenly hyper-aware of the slight hitches in her companions breathing as he shuffled slightly closer to her.

Either way, the air was thick and still and the whole atmosphere made her feel hot, like her circuits were suddenly running two speed.

But she had orders. They both had orders.

“Alert: multiple foreign movements along this path, an 89% chance of machine lifeforms. Proposal: precautionary measures should be taken.” Pod 042 monotonous voice rang out in the stillness.

“Understood” 2B said, ignoring the way her voice quivered slightly on the first syllable. She breathed and stepped forwards, pressed onwards.

“2B! Don’t you think it’s a better idea to come back later, restock and refine our weapons? Maybe recharge and run some software updates, backup data to the bunker maybe?” 9S called after her but she had already made up her mind, she gave him a quick flick of her hand in dismissal.

“I am already running at maximum performance, 9S. I don’t require any software modifications of any kind, and neither do you.” She kept her voice low and quiet, in a bid to mildly settle the shorter model, a quick surrounding scan showed his vitals were heightened. Fear.

9S opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by a shrill, gut-wrenching scream.

2B was instantly at full alert, sheathing her weapon from the holder and jumping back, poised in a position that was ready to strike. 9S readied himself too, palm curled tight around Cruel Oath as he stood next to 2B. She ignored the way he was stood ever so slightly in front of her, looking like he was ready to dive into any attack that could come for her.

Her eyes scanned for where the noise has come from, fortunately for her the sound of tearing metal cut through the brief silence. Unfortunate for who or whatever the source of the noise was since weak, glitching screams distorted the silence.

“Was that a machine?” 9S hissed.

“Uncertain.” 2B homed in on the noise, there was a small crack in the wall of bodies to their right, barely noticeable in the darkness. In fact, 2B was certain she would have missed it if it had not been for the noise.   
  
She stayed low to the ground as she trod on light steps over to the opening. She could feel the eyes of her companion on her back as she stayed flat against the rock, crouched as she edged to the opening. This was it. The tracking device in her hand vibrating so intensely that she had to clench a fist around it to stop it from escaping.

She peered around the corner.

It was a machine, like 9S had thought.

Maybe.

All she could make out in the damp darkness of the cave were screams, two sets of screams. One a distorted mess of pitch glitches and gargles, the other was-... She didn’t know. If she listened carefully she might have mistaken it was happy, gleeful even. On further listening she realized one was speaking, it was hard to decipher through the mess of frantic jumbled noises. But eventually, she made out a tight mantra of “I love you! I love you! I LOVE YOU!”

She squinted behind her visor, just able to make out shapes thanks to the small gap of light beaming in from the opening. She could definitely make out at least one machine, seemingly floating in mid-air, body dangling loosely. Following the body up she realized it was hanging by the neck, with what looked like a tightly clamped claw wrapped around it.

That brought her attention to the oozing figure next to the machine, it was dull in colour, almost dark enough that she couldn’t make it out. a sickly damp grey, spots of rotting and rusting metal splotching its body. At least what she thought was its body. A thin mass of dented metal plates crudely welded together, It was too dark in the cave to make out much else apart from spindly arms and legs.

2B tried to lean into the gap of rock more to get a better look at the machine, to do so she adjusted her hand, finding a different spot to hold herself up on.

Crack!   
  
The female android froze in place, not even daring to breathe as she held herself still. It seemed that in her movements she had knocked a rock from the wall beside her, it crashed to the floor, hitting the other rocks as it rolled to a quiet stop by 2B’s thumb. She stared wide-eyed into the cave with baited breath, _there’s a chance it might not have heard, right?_

2B scanned the cave for movement, none that she could identify, only the twitching corpse of the dead machine that lay crumpled on the algae-slick floor. It took her a second to realize it had fallen silent too, completely silent. Wind wasn’t whistling through the gaps of the metal canopy above her anymore, she could no longer hear the usual distant chirping of birds high above.

Silence.

Heavy, sickly silence that left a lump in her throat and a pit of nausea in her stomach.

It felt like hours later when she heard 9S squeak in a breath beside her, she wanted to tell him to shut up, to be as still as possible. But as she puckered her lips to quietly shush him, it moved and-

_Red._

That’s all she could see, her vision completely filled with brilliant, blinding red.

The light was so bright it drowned out anything else she could see. Shocked, she stumbled back, blinking and squeezing her eyes shut to avoid the burn of light searing her eyes. She stumbled to her knees, palms pressed to her visor trying to stabilize her vision sensors.

“2B!” 9S jumped forward to 2B’s side, crouched next to her thighs as she knelt on the floor. She heard his quiet mumble of “shit” as she blinked a few times, blearily trying to reach for her blade and get to her feet as quick as possible. Her vision was glitched, some lines out of place as her sensors refigured, but she could see enough.

It was unlike anything they’d encountered, unlike anything 2B had seen or even heard of before. Its eyes glowed like fog lights in the shade of the canyon, bathing both of the androids in vibrant crimson. It’s sharp claw-like hands scratched at the stone wall as it tried to squeeze its long body through the break in the rock.

Its movements were jerky, abrupt in motion as it clung to the jags of rock with sharp talons, holding itself poised on the wall. Head tilted towards the two androids as it inspected them. Now, 2B could get a look at the machine, she realized how malformed from the rest of the machine lifeforms she’d encountered it really was. Its body had been dented inwards, looking like it had cut holes in itself to crudely bolt smaller metal plates around its circuitry. its head was the standard orb that most other machine lifeforms had, except it had two dents on either side of its head. Right where you could say its cheeks should be, and it’s eyes.

While the standard machines that littered the landscape of earth had two neat, flat, circle lights, this did not have that. The glass of the bulb had been broken, the filaments protruded outwards in a mess of wires and dried, dark fluids. The right eye bulged outwards, looking like the ball of cables was hanging by a thread to its socket. It had to be blind, or at least mostly blind, there’s no way that mess of gore was functional.

The boring red light that drenched the androids flickered before dissipating. Both 2B and 9S held their breaths, awaiting its next move, 2B tightened her grip on her blade ready for the worst.

“A̱͝n̓ͅ.̗̈.͚͑ ̨d̡͒r͙̓o͍͂i̝̓d͌͜.͔̊.̩͒ ̺̿s͉͠?” It spoke.

Its voice wasn’t like the usual machines, it was pitch-shifted higher and spoke in broken syllables, the digital overlay sounded thicker.

“ _P̨̓r͉̍e͖͘.͋ͅ.̲͘ ̨ẗ̫t͜͠y͎͐.̞͑.̲̓ ̦̒a̜͋n̗̅.̳̔.̰ ̜́d̟̑r͎̓ọ̅i͓͊d̄͜.̪̀.̮̏ ͙̍ş̌_?” It shifted on the wall slightly, pebbles falling to the floor when it’s rusted claws scrambled against rock to climb higher up the rock face.   
  
“ **P͚̓e͈̚ṛ͝.̨̂.̹̈́ ͚̎f̼̂ě̡c͇̉t͉́.̺͝.̬̌ ̼̕a̜̍ñ̜.̡̈́.̞͐ ͇d̟͋r̙̋o̤͂i͕͂d͈͝.̼͛.̬̊ ̛͔s̱̚?** ” it’s volume increased when it’s head clanged against the scrapped metal arches above, it’s talons detached from rock and instead clung to metal as it clambered on to the ceiling above. The weight of it’s body shook the whole frame, sending the odd messily stacked corpses that were splotched along the walls toppling down.

9S took a sharp intake of breath when the creatures head spun 180 to stare them down. It hung right above them, the odd drip of rusted oil dipped into small puddles by the androids feet, staining the sandy colour gravel to a thick, tarry black. 2B stayed stoic beside him, eyes trained on the machine, 9S was nervous, she could feel him anxiously shifting his weight back and forth from foot to foot.

She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t slightly nervous too.

**“.͙̓.̰͠.͈̚L̼̎Ö̟́V̻͊Ẻ̪.̦̓.̼̕ ̖̈́Ā̻N̫̓.̳͊.͔̈́ ̛̼D͒ͅR̯̈́O͖̽Ḯ͓D̫̈́.̰̔.̟͝ ̖̈S̙̄?** ” it’s body swayed disjointedly, the parts didn’t fit together, it’s legs and arms too thin and weak to hold the full weight of the rest of it. The joints squeaked and ground together whenever it moved, like nails on a chalkboard.

**_“B͓͝E͓̚.̠͐.͚́ ̺̎Å̝N̗.̥̍.̼͠ ̣͆D͌ͅR̝͐O̪͝I̡͊D͙̈́_ **

Be android? Does it want to be an android?

“Be android?” 9S mimicked his partners train of thought “I’m gonna attempt to hack.” He stepped backwards as he spoke, white flickers of light sparking from his palm.

“No, that’s not a good idea, 9S” 2B hissed, holding an arm out absent-mindedly in the general direction of the shorter android, as an attempt to signal him to halt. Her stare stayed levelled on the machine as it twitched above them, it had gradually become more erratic in it’s movements, a low hum of interference static sounding from the creature. “I don’t think there’s much time befo-”   
  
The machine screeched, losing grip on the tattered canopy and crashing to a writhing heap on the gravelled floor. 2B jumped back, narrowly avoiding being lacerated by offcuts of lethally sharp metal that fell from the ceiling with the machine. 9S however, he didn’t move, he stayed undisturbed and silent despite the hail of splintered shards falling around him. The machine squirmed at his feet, and the noises it made almost sounded like giggles, a less advanced, multi-pitch series of squeals anyway.

She didn’t know what to do. She had planned what to do next, a series of strategic aerial attacks that would have immobilized the machine so she could deliver the killing blow, and it would have been done.

He never listens, he always just recklessly does what he wants without thinking .

_He never fucking listens._

The battle unit wanted to walk over to the machine and slice through it’s core with a flick of her blade and end this, but she knew with 9S hacked into its system that that was dangerous. A little part of her scoffed and thought would serve him right, to give him a little non-lethal overload, just a zap to set him right.

She quickly pushed that thought aside and approached her partner, the machine still writhing on the ground merely a few inches from his toes. Placing a hand on his shoulder she spoke out a quiet but firm “9S, you need to get out of there.” She knew he could hear her, knew he could feel her, and she was rarely a tactile person, he should be able to figure out that this was serious.

A few moments later he gasped back to awareness, head snapping up and body stiffening. Almost as soon as he was back to reality though he was retching, turning his back towards 2B and spitting bile into the sand at his feet. He spluttered and gasped for air, she could practically feel how hard he was shaking and shivering standing a foot away from him.

She was about to reach out for him, make sure he wasn’t in immediate danger, when her breath was taken with a sharp blow to the stomach. Besides the sudden explosion of pain in her gut, the only thing she felt was a sharp strike of heat as her back hit the solid rock of wall. She could feel every jut and point of the rocks as she slid to a crumpled pile on the gravel.

Various warning signs popped up in her vision, she quickly tried to readjust herself, blinking away the annoying flashing text and reorientate herself. She looked up with bleary eyes to see the machine crouching on rattling limbs, the red of glow of its eyes settling over her partner. 9S seemed disorientated as he wiped his mouth, hunched over away from the machine, he barely even seemed to realise it was there.

“Nine-...” 2B tried to push herself up. She could feel the joint of her left shoulder had snapped, the off-cut metal plate jabbing into the synthetic muscle.

The pain was hot, the taste of tarry oil and copper flooded her mouth when she tried to push herself to her feet. She only needed one arm to grip her blade, she only needed one arm to fight. Her nerves felt like they were fizzing under her skin. This wasn’t the first time she’d be injured in a fight of course, she’d fought with worse injuries before in worse situations, she could do this.

This was still doable. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
